Tag Archives: The South

Book Review: Extraordinary, Ordinary People by Condoleezza Rice

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I found this book when I was searching what ebooks my library had available.  I hadn’t even heard of it before, though it came out earlier this fall.  Since I enjoy memoirs and was curious about Condoleezza Rice’s background, so this was an easy choice for me.

I’m glad that they had it, as I really enjoyed it (obviously, as it made my top books of 2010 list).  Regardless of where you stand politically, I think you can still like this book…it is not a political memoir.  I think Rice intentionally framed it around her parents so she had an excuse to end before she joined George W. Bush’s staff (her father dies in 2000).

Rice grew up in the South, but her story of growing up black in the 60s South is not like anything I’ve read before.  While she definitely still had obstacles to overcome, her family was well enough off (and her parents made many sacrifices for her, their only child) that she had many more opportunities than you might expect.

If there was only one thing I learned about Rice, it’s that she is incredibly driven.  Her parents certainly pushed her early–even attempted getting her in first grade when she was 3 (she stubbornly refused to stay)–but they weren’t the only ones pushing her. Her family later moves to Denver so that she could continue to pursue figure skating year round (believe it or not, there were no skating rinks in Birmingham), though she herself admits she was not built for the jumps.  She also is an excellent pianist thanks to her drive (and presumably her natural talent as well).

Rice was chosen to be the provost of Standford University at the age of 38, becoming the youngest, first minority, and first woman to hold that position.  She does a good job of showing why she rose to the top so quickly, not because she toots her own horn, but because she clearly has a dynamic personality that accompanies her drive for excellence.

As a fellow single woman, I appreciate stories like this.  While she would have loved to have been married, she recognized that a husband is a prize for the worthy and that singlehood is better than marriage to the wrong person.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good memoir.

Trip Update: Lots of Words, a Picture, and a Vlog

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I once argued with a Virginian that outsiders don’t consider Virginia a part of a South.  Yes, they fought on the side of the Confederacy, but I’ve always considered Virginia in it’s own category, you know?

Well, I still think I’m right about that, but I won’t be making that argument again.  I had to drive 3 hours north to get to Roanoke from Raleigh (all on back roads), and somehow ended up in the most Southern place I’ve ever been.  As I sat in the dining room of the 19th century hotel, I felt like I had been transported back to its heyday.  I was served “fancy” grits, peanut soup, and bread pudding.  The upcoming deer season and Virginia Tech football were the two major topics of conversation beyond the boring subject of our class.

It was quite foreign to this non-Southern city girl, that’s for sure.

As I was driving to and from Virginia, I was thinking about what it would be like to live in any of the various communities I drove through.  I just can’t picture living that far from a city.  Where would you work?

After my three days of training, I headed out to the cabin which was about an hour away.  I honestly thought that I might get freaked out being there alone, but I wasn’t.   Well, except for when a wasp kept dive bombing my pajama pants because the cloud pattern apparently looked like a window to him.  If Ronnica screams in an empty cabin in the middle of nowhere, does it still count as a girly scream?

I had a great two days alone.  It was peaceful.  It was agenda-free.  My major accomplishment was completing a 1000-piece puzzle (with help).

It was just what I needed.

Though I could have spent the whole 4 days alone, I was excited for my friends to join me for the weekend.  We had 21 people–including 13 children ages 2 to 17–in the cabin.  It was too much fun…I wish I could live in community *almost* like that all the time (it’d be great to have a little bit more personal space for each family and a larger kitchen!).  It’s great just to live life with others.

So overall it was a great week, though I am glad to be back now.

But I can’t end this post there.  Remember, I hinted at the possibility of a vlog?

Here it is:

I realized that I didn’t show the height of the cabin in the video. Here is a picture from the couch, showing the fireplace, hallway, and a bit of the kitchen:

Isn’t it gorgeous?

5 Years in North Carolina

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As of today, I’ve been a resident of North Carolina, and thus the South, for 5 years.  Or at least this is the day that I celebrate my move here (it’s hard to determine which day I actually moved when it was a week-long process).

As a celebration, I thought I’d share with you some insights I’ve found into the South:

1.  You don’t find guys named “Grant” in the South.  Not surprisingly, there are plenty with “Lee” as their first, middle, or last name.

2.  Raleigh is actually populated with a lot of Northerners.  Probably made my assimilation easier.

3.  The Southern accent isn’t quite as annoying as it sounds.  Actually, I only notice it when I first meet someone, after that it just becomes a part of their own unique voice.

4.  North Carolina prides itself in having the largest number of state-maintained highways in the country.  It’s not a good thing, I promise…”maintained” is used loosely.

5.  The Wake County school district (the one I’m in) is the 18th largest district in the country.  Once again, it’s something they take pride in.  North Carolinians apparently need to learn that bigger does NOT equal better.

6.  Chick-fil-a is addictive.

7.  Most Southerners aren’t as obsessed with the Confederacy, states’ rights, and Southern pride like you’d think.

8.  But sadly, race issues are still a big deal.

Long live the South…and the North. =)

Where Should the Confederate Flag Fly?

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I have several serious, thought provoking things to write here, but here’s a question for you…is it a bad idea to write about such a subject on a Friday? Is it a rule for Friday posts to be casual like the attire and attitudes? Will anyone read it if I post my cure for the common cold or my recipe to end world hunger?

Well, I think I’m going to go for it. The last time I wrote a serious post was for Earth Day. I’ve let another whole holiday (May Day) pass since then without causing my readers to think. I think you all deserve better, so here goes.

Yesterday I went to get my North Carolina tag, which was a relatively smooth, painless process. I love when our government works like it should. There was just one thing that rubbed me the wrong way about the whole process. Inside the office, there were vanity plates on all the walls for sale. I was already a little on edge, as I don’t think the government should be in the business of selling things, but then I spot a plate that offended me.

They, the state government of North Carolina, were selling a plate with the Confederate flag on it.

I don’t like the Confederate flag. While I support someone’s right to use it to express free speech, I don’t agree with what it stands for. I’ve never received what I would consider a good answer from anyone as to why they find pride in it. When I look at a Confederate flag, I think about someone who takes pride in rebelling against their country and oppressing and enslaving minorities. That’s nothing to be proud of. While a Confederate flag could also express Southern pride (or “hubris” as my Civil War professor would say) and states’ rights, these are overarched with the bigotry and rebellion associated with the flag in the past. While the person flying the Confederate flag may think they are representing these better aspects of Southernism, they are really proclaiming to the world their endorsement of the bad with the good.

I don’t care if a store sells Confederate memorabilia. If people buy it, why wouldn’t they sell it? While it bugs me every time I see it, it also bugs me to see T-shirts with profanity on them. It’s just that the government has no right selling Confederate memorabilia. Period. I would question their role in selling anything whatsoever, but that’s another post.

I hope I’ve made myself very clear in this post. I’m not trying to suppress free speech. I don’t think that Confederate vanity plates should be banned. I just don’t like the idea of my state government selling them. That’s not something I want my tax dollars supporting.

So, what do you think? Am I totally off-base here? Is this just something I’ll have to live with now that I live in the South? Is there another way of looking at this that I simply don’t see? I would love to hear your honest, civil opinions on this issue, regardless of whether you agree with me or not!

Southern Expressions

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I’ve now lived in North Carolina for 2 1/2 years. I really do enjoy it here, but a few things drive me batty at times. Primarily, the language differences. I can certainly get used to a Southern accent and forget it after awhile, but there are a few words that Southerners (at least the ones I know) say, and they drive me crazy.
As a disclaimer, this post is intended to be funny. While I wish everyone would pronounce everything the right way (insert “my way”), I want to celebrate the differences. Just don’t expect me to use any of these any time soon.
Here are just a few:
1. Favor. As in, “Look at his nose, doesn’t he favor his Uncle Jim Bob?” Just in case you can’t pick up the meaning of “favor” from context as I surely didn’t the first several times I heard it, “favor” means “bear a likeness to.”
2. Mash. Not as in potatoes, but as in buttons. Instead of pressing buttons, Southerners are big on mashing them. I guess they are subtly indicating their strength to pulverize the buttons if they so choose.
3. Got that honestly. If you have gotten something honestly, it means that you properly inherited the genes for it from your parents. Honestly.
4. Get on the stick. I can’t stand this phrase, and cringe every time I hear it. It just sounds so wrong. To say you are getting on the stick about something means that you are getting right to the task.
5. Tote. Instead of carry. I guess that’s why they call it a tote bag, but I never really thought about tote being a verb before.
6. Crank the car. Instead of start the car. I can’t complain about this one, since April has so wonderfully cranked my car twice last week when it was cold.
7. Err/error/era. This is just confusing to me. “Err” is pronounced “urr,” “error” is pronounced “erra,” and “era” is sometimes pronounced “erar.” Thus, “error” and “era” are pronounced oppositely of the way they are spelled which causes many a Northerner to scratch his head when he hears, “In the Mesozoic error…” and “Don’t make that era again.”
8. War of Northern Aggression. I about fell out of my seat the first time I heard this. I just couldn’t believe it. Last I checked, the Confederacy DOES NOT EXIST. You lost the war, and it was determined that a state in fact does not have the right to enter or leave the union at will whenever they choose. Oh, and the Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter, not the other way around.

I Did It!

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I’m completely done with writing papers for the semester!

For whatever reason, I really dislike writing papers. I enjoy reading, discussing, learning, and even being tested over the material, just don’t make me write a paper.
You might find this odd coming from a girl who is at this very moment writing her 31st blog entry of the month. But writing a blog is so different.
On a blog I can use 1st and 2nd person, not to mention contractions: “Hey y’all, it’s me!”
On a blog I can write about anything I want, from fashion to friends, fake tears to tragedy.
On a blog I can receive instant feedback. After all, I’m a child of the “me” generation.
Most of all, on a blog I can share my celebration!
P.S. Remind me to not use “y’all” again. That’s twice now, and I really don’t want to make it a habit. I’m still a Kansas girl, after all.

Blessings through Fire

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I’ve already talked here about the fire, but after a couple of months of reflecting, I felt like I should add to it.

As one person asked in a comment (okay, so it was the ONLY comment on yesterday’s post, why don’t y’all leave me a comment today?), “How do you even know where to begin cleaning?” That was exactly our problem. I remember going in the day after the fire with my roommate and think, “Where do we begin?” We already knew that we’d be moving into a new apartment, so I had to think about packing everything we owned. The task was overwhelming emotionally and physically.

While my roommate and I struggled with what to do, we had church members and friends come by and help. A couple of people went through our dishes and helped us pack them up to be washed. Another packed up and cleaned out our entire refrigerator, rearranging it in our new apartment so that we could see what we still had.

A couple of teenagers in the church came and packed up our coats, some food, and other miscellaneous items. They hauled bags and bags of trash that filled our dining room to the dumpster. One dear friend helped me pack up my bathroom. Another packed up my nightstand, filled lots of little things: nail polish, hair products, etc. Two different friends took some of my smokey bedding and washed it for me so that it’d be ready for the new apartment.

One family in my ABF class helped me by fixing my toy box (I use it for linens now) that my dad made me as a kid. It is a part of the my bedroom set that I’ve used all my life and plan on giving to my kid one day, so it was important to me to keep it. The bottom had to be removed and replaced because of the water damage, and I probably would have taken forever to get around to it. Instead, this family carted it away, delivering it to me the next week completely fixed.

There were also several things in our apartment that had to be replaced. Our kitchen appliances were completely water-logged. Our dining room table and chairs couldn’t handle all that water either. Our new-to-us microwave hutch carried more mildew than I’ve ever seen. Friends, family, and co-workers donated many of these replaceable items. The church also provided for us a generous giftcard to take care of a lot of the little things that had to be replaced.

I love seeing the church work as it should. God has allowed us to be His body here on earth. As we show love to one another, we further demonstrate John 13:35, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” By loving one another, we not only get the blessing of serving them, we get the wonderful opportunity to show the world the character of our loving Lord.

In what way have you been encouraged by the body of Christ, the church? In what way can the church be a better be a witness to its community?

On a almost completely unrelated note, I was greatly touched by this blog entry about a meeting with Mike Huckabee. I tell you, he’s not your average politician!

Also, did you notice I used a Southernism in this blog post? I’ve been trying not to use “y’all” for years, but saying “you all” over and over again as I do eventually leads to the shortened “y’all.” Yuck! Someday soon I’d like to post on the Southern words and phrases that I hope NEVER to say. I’m still a Kansas girl at heart!

Ronnica
NaBloPoMo, Day 9

Peanut Torture

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I thought I had experienced most of what the South had to offer, but apparently not. My roommate, Cindy, came home last night with a bag of boiled peanuts. I asked her what boiled peanuts were, and she was astonished. Is it just me? I’ve NEVER heard of or seen them! Cindy confirmed with our other roommate, Allison, that boiled peanuts are a common treat. Cindy gave me one, and I was immediately disgusted with the slimy texture. The peanut taste was exactly the same, but it had the texture of a hard boiled egg. Blech!
Poll: have you heard of boiled peanuts?